Cuphophyllus pegleri sp. nov. (Hygrophoraceae) from the Lesser Antilles

Abstract

In 1983, Pegler described collections from the Lesser Antillean islands of Martinique and Dominica of what were thought at the time to be Camarophyllus niveicolor (Murrill) Singer. Pegler (1983) noted that collections from the Lesser Antilles had a distinct odour of mint, but that Murrill (1911) made no mention of odour in his original description of this species from Mexico. Although C. niveicolor is not easily distinguished from related species in the field, it has very large spores that easily separate it microscopically from other white species of Cuphophyllus sect. Virginei (Bat.) Singer. During the British Mycological Society expedition to Cuyabeno in Amazonian Ecuador in 1993, Thomas Laessoe collected specimens of Cuphophyllus in sect. Virginei that closely resembled the type collection of C. niveicolor both macroscopically and microscopically. The Ecuadorian collection was completely odourless, which suggested that the collections which Pegler described from the Lesser Antilles might be an undescribed species and not C. niveicolor. Subsequent comparisons of the relevant collections revealed that the Lesser Antillean specimens differed from C. niveicolor in several microscopic features and the mint odour. This distinctive species is formally described and illustrated below in honour of David Pegler's mycological work in the Lesser Antilles and on the Hygrophoraceae of Puerto Rico.